It was my understanding that this one is difficult to propagate from cuttings but that Heidi was going to try and do some grafts. I just found out that she was successful after I ordered one from Gossler Farms. Anyway, their packaging was simple and highly effective at keeping the plant in place, no packing material necessary. It looks as if this one is grafted on other root stock. I'm thinking that the blue will go really well with B. Orange Rocket.

At least we can sit at the back table and pretend that there aren't plants to get into the ground. Oops. Yes, there is a holding area down by the greenhouse but I like to keep the new ones up here to admire and to shame myself into doing something with them. Does it look like it's working?

If you have a lot of empty pots hanging around that you slip brugmansias and begonias in during the summer, you can throw some new arrivals in those for a while.

So, there you have it, a glimpse of my messy spring garden, quite neglected because of the rain, cold, and lack of motivation.

Maybe I should just hang a sign like this one, stay inside and pretend it's still winter.

23 comments:

I enjoyed the panoramic view of your garden; those photos indeed are rare. I'd rather be shopping at plant sales too, except the garden owner is keeping me in line: he always has the same pesky question: where are you going to put this plant... :-)The second picture of pink and orange combo works well due to the black foliage and the directed green above. In my opinion it's a beautiful and dramatic vignette.

Oh, Peter, for what it's worth, I love your exuberant garden. I'm so incredibly impatient for all the small plants I've put in the ground to grow up and actually look like a garden, not to mention for them to shade and crowd out the weeds that I've been slow to pull this spring due to the weather. I love Berberis temolaica. I have a very small one that I took home from Cistus after successfully rooting a handful of cuttings. They are indeed difficult to root.

Please don't put down your lack of motivation! The cold and record rain have washed it out of many of us for now, who are all inwardly chomping at the bit to get out there. It's good weather if you are a duck or a weed!

Make those paths narrower and you would have lots more room. It is very cold and has been raining here and frost last night. So my front hall has mail order plants from two nurseries and boxes of bulbs from two others. Weather suggests no way to plant them until mid week or later next week. We're not lazy, we just can't keep up with our impulse purchases.

The plants are the stars and you can never have too many. I think your garden looks great ! I can often be found walking up and down the garden with a new acquisition in my hands looking for a space, even a tiny space, to shoehorn it in!

Oh dear Peter ~ I absolutely love your chaotic gardens, I feel right at home. Heat and humidity are already settling into my area and I could only work outside from 8-10 this morning. I need to get out there at 7.

I woke up from a nap, somewhat depressed, had a good little cry and now have read your delightful post which has inspired me and lifted my spirits.

It's spring! And there's always room (somewhere). At least you're open about your plant fanatic purchases. While I've been quiet on that score, I admit it isn't because I haven't received my own share of mail order purchases in the past month.

I adore wild, woolly glorious messes like yours - and it seems as if you have so many delightful little spots to sit and enjoy in your garden as well. We can't stop buying plants if we love them - I've just spent way too much money that I haven't got ... Thanks for sharing the long views!

I like lush! A garden that drapes and pushes boundaries is much more interesting than a sparse and perfectly manicured garden. And just when did gardeners start raging against pink and orange? It can work. Add some cobalt blue and turquoise, and it becomes knock-your-socks-off gorgeous! My opinion.

I kept on waiting for you to show a mess, but maybe I missed it? Was it the bamboo leaves?One of the good things about gardening in a harsher climate is the higher death rate. When I get to feeling guilty about an unplanted flower I just stop watering it, it dies, I dump it, and problem solved. It's not like I'm adopting cats, I'm just keeping nurseries in business and that's an noble cause.

About Me

Why Outlaw Gardener? I like to break the rules of good taste, plant placement, and plant hardiness. Also, I have received periodic "love notes" from the city code enforcement officer telling me that my parking strip plants encroach on the city's right-of-way. When expressing my distress over the latest such notice, I exclaimed to my pal Loree (Danger Garden) "I'm an outlaw gardener!" To which she replied,"That would be a good name for a blog."
My first gardens were in Southeast Alaska (zone 3.)I do miss the beauty and community of small-town Alaska but I don't take for granted for a moment how wonderful it is to garden in zone 8.